GREEN COUNTY CHEESE DAYS
When & where: Sept. 14-16, Monroe
It bills itself as the oldest food fest in the Midwest, and given its 1914 inaugural year, it seems quite possible. Since 1970 the fest has been held every other year and draws 100,000 visitors. If your dreams are made of cheese, this fest celebrating Wisconsin’s most famous food is for you.
Get your cheese fix: A large cheese tent lets you meet cheesemakers, buy cheese and sample an enormous variety of cheeses. “You wait in line awhile and then you’re in there awhile,” said Norene Rueckert, Cheese Days executive director.
Vendors offer lots of cheesy choices, including gourmet grilled cheese, raclette potatoes, macaroni and cheese, limburger cheese sliders, cheesecake on a stick (made just for the fest by local Swiss Colony) and hand-breaded, local-beer-battered deep-fried cheese curds served up by the Monroe Optimist Club (prepare to stand in line).
Take up the challenge: Sign up for the Cheese Days Chase (5K, 10K and a kids’ race) or cow-milking contest (register in advance).
Get in the know: Watch cheesemakers produce a 180-pound wheel of Emmentaler the old-fashioned way, using a giant copper kettle. Sign up for a dairy farm tour for that “herd to curd feeling.” Visit the National Historical Cheesemaking Center in Monroe.
Kids’ stuff: A children’s parade at 5 p.m. Friday. Kids’ Street on Saturday has demonstrations, free activities and more for kids. Look for the Cheese Days mascot, Wedgie (who has his own Facebook page and fan club). Other draws: Arts and crafts fair, antique tractor show, live music and entertainment (including yodelers and polka bands), a Sunday parade led by brown Swiss cows adorned with bells, escorted by folks in traditional Swiss garb.
Fun fact: Green County is home to the nation’s only limburger plant, Chalet Cheese Cooperative. Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett — a vocal fan of limburger — is the official Cheese Days Limburger Queen, joining other members of the Cheese Days royalty.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Admission is free.